Compressor and power generating system and method of using the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a compressor having a cylinder block having a center bore piercedly formed at the center thereof and cylinder bores piercedly formed around the center bore, a front housing and a rear housing mounted on both ends of the cylinder block, a driving shaft rotatably passing through the front housing and the center bore, and pistons linearly reciprocating in the cylinder bores with the power received from the driving shaft to compress a refrigerant. The compressor includes a permanent magnet disposed on either of the pistons or the cylinder block and coil parts provided to the other part, wherein power generation is conducted by means of the electromagnetic induction produced by the motions of the pistons.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No.2014-0118647 filed on Sep. 5, 2014, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a compressor and a power generatingsystem and method of using the same, and more particularly, to acompressor and a power generating system and method of using the samewherein as a driving shaft rotates by receiving a driving force from anengine, a refrigerant is compressed in cylinder bores by means ofpistons to conduct power generation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A compressor used in an air conditioning system for a vehicle absorbs arefrigerant whose evaporation is completed after exiting an evaporator,compresses the refrigerant into a high temperature, high pressure liquidrefrigerant, and transports the refrigerant to a condensor, and togetherwith the condensor, an expansion valve and the evaporator, thecompressor constitutes a cooling system.

In the refrigerant compressing manner, the compressor is divided into areciprocating type compressor and a rotary type compressor. Thereciprocating type compressor includes a crank type compressortransmitting a driving force from a driving source through a crankshaft, a swash plate type compressor transmitting the driving forcethrough a rotary shaft to which swash plates are fitted, and a wobbleplate type compressor transmitting the driving force through a wobbleplate. The rotary type compressor includes a vane rotary type compressorusing a rotating rotary shaft and a vane and a scroll type compressorusing a rotating scroll and a fixed scroll.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the internal configuration of aconventional compressor. As shown in FIG. 1, the compressor has a centerbore 11 formed to pass through the center of a cylinder block 10. Aplurality of cylinder bores 13 is formed radially around the center bore11 to pass through the cylinder block 10. Pistons 15 are movablydisposed in the interiors of the cylinder bores 13. The pistons 15 havea cylindrical shape, and the cylinder bores 13 have a hollow cylindricalshape corresponding to the pistons 15. A connection part 17 is formed onone end portion of each piston 15, that is, on the portion of eachpiston 15 protruding outward from each cylinder bore 13. Each piston 15compresses the refrigerant at the inside of the corresponding cylinderbore 13.

A front housing 20 is disposed on one end of the cylinder block 10. Thefront housing 20 is coupled to the cylinder block 10 to form a crankchamber 21 therein. The crank chamber 21 is airtightly sealed from theoutside.

The front housing 20 has a pulley shaft 22′ protruding from the oppositeside to the side coupled to the cylinder block 10 to rotatably fit apulley 22 rotating by means of the driving force of an engine thereto. Ahub (not shown) is disposed on the inner peripheral surface of thepulley 22 in such a manner as to be engaged with one end of a drivingshaft 40.

A shaft hole 23 is formed from the center of the pulley shaft 22′ to thecrank chamber 21 in such a manner as to pass through the front housing20 forward and backward.

A rear housing 30 is disposed on the other end of the cylinder block 10,that is, on the opposite side to the side to which the front housing 20is disposed. The rear housing 30 has a suction chamber (not shown)selectively communicating with the cylinder bores 13. The suctionchamber is formed at the center of the surface of the rear housing 30facing the cylinder block 10. The suction chamber serves to transmit therefrigerant to be compressed to the interiors of the cylinder bores 13.

The rear housing 30 has a discharge chamber 33 selectively communicatingwith the cylinder bores 13. The discharge chamber 33 is formed at theposition close to the outer circumference of the rear housing 30 facingthe cylinder block 10. The discharge chamber 33 serves as the space inwhich the refrigerant compressed in the cylinder bores 13 temporarilystays. The rear housing 30 has a control valve (not shown) mounted atone side thereof. The control valve is adapted to adjust angles of swashplates 48 as will be discussed below.

The cylinder block 10, the front housing 20, and the rear housing 30 arefastened to each other by means of bolts 37. The bolts 37 pass throughthe outer circumferences of the cylinder block 10, the front housing 20and the rear housing 30 and fasten them to each other.

The driving shaft 40 is disposed to pass through the center bore 11 ofthe cylinder block 10 and the shaft hole 23 of the front housing 20. Thedriving shaft 40 rotates by means of the driving force received from theengine. The driving shaft 40 is rotatably supported against the cylinderblock 10 and the front housing 20 by means of a bush 42.

A rotor 44, through which the driving shaft 40 passes, is disposedinside the crank chamber 21 in such a manner as to rotate unitarily withthe driving shaft 40. The rotor 44 has a generally circular plate and isfixedly fitted to the driving shaft 40.

The driving shaft 40 has the swash plates 48 hinge-coupled to the rotor44 and rotating together with the rotor 44. The swash plates 48 arevaried in angles fixed to the driving shaft 40 in accordance with thedischarging capacities of the compressor. That is, the swash plates 48have angles perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the drivingshaft 40 or given tilted angles thereto. At this time, the outercircumferences 50 of the swash plates 48 are connected to the pistons 15by means of shoes 50. In more detail, the outer circumferences 50 of theswash plates 48 are connected to the connection parts 17 of the pistons15 by means of the shoes 50, thus allowing the pistons 15 to be linearlyreciprocated in the interiors of the cylinder bores 13 through therotation of the swash plates 48.

On the other hand, a washer 62 is disposed on one end periphery of thedriving shaft 40 located at the center bore 11 of the cylinder block 10.A shaft elastic member 64 is supported on one end thereof against thewasher 62 mounted on the driving shaft 40. The shaft elastic member 64is a cylindrical coil spring which generates an elastic force pushingthe driving shaft 40 toward the front housing 20, thus preventing thedriving shaft 40 from pushing toward the rear housing 30 and at the sametime supporting the driving shaft thereagainst.

The hub is disposed on the other end periphery of the driving shaft 40.The hub transmits the rotary force of the pulley 22 to the driving shaft40.

A valve assembly 70 is disposed between the cylinder block 10 and therear housing 30 to control the flow of refrigerant between the suctionchamber and the discharge chamber 33 of the rear housing 30 and thecylinder bores 13 of the cylinder block 10. That is, the valve assembly70 controls the flows of refrigerant from the suction chamber to thecylinder bores 13 and from the cylinder bores 13 to the dischargechamber 33.

Now, an explanation on the operation of the compressor having theabove-mentioned configuration will be given. If the driving force of theengine is transmitted to the pulley 22 via a belt (not shown), thepulley 22 rotates. If the pulley 22 rotates, the rotary force of thepulley 22 is transmitted to the hub disposed on the inner peripheralsurface of the pulley 22, so that the driving shaft 40 coupled to thehub rotates, thus allowing the compressor to be driven.

As the driving shaft 40 rotates, accordingly, the swash plates 48 rotatetogether with the driving shaft 40. The rotation of the swash plates 48allows the pistons 15 to be linearly reciprocated inside the cylinderbores 13.

As a result, the refrigerant in the suction chamber is suckedsequentially into the cylinder bores 13. If the refrigerant istransmitted to the cylinder bores 13, the pistons 15 of the cylinderbores 13 move toward the valve assembly 70, thus conducting thecompression of the refrigerant.

If the refrigerant is compressed at the inside of the cylinder bores 13,the internal pressures of the cylinder bores 13 become relatively highto permit the refrigerant to be transmitted to the discharge chamber 33.In this state, if the inclination angles of the swash plates 48 arevaried by means of the control valve, the quantity of refrigerantcompressed at the inside of the cylinder bores 13 is varied, thuschanging the quantity of refrigerant discharged.

To achieve low emission and high fuel efficiency, recently, hybridelectric vehicles have been popularized. Conventionally, vehicles havingengines using fossil fuels like gasoline, diesel and the like aregenerally used, but with the decrement of burial quantity of the fossilfuels and the seriousness of environmental pollution, many studies onthe energy sources for vehicles with which the fossil fuels are replacedhave been kept. The energy sources, which have been recently studiedbest, are fuel cells, and the hybrid electric vehicles using both of thefossil fuels and the fuel cells (that is, electricity), are mostpopularly used. A driving motor using electricity as a driving source ismounted on the fuel cell vehicle or the hybrid electric vehicle, whichis used to replace an engine using the fossil fuel or to assist theengine. However, many studies and development have been continuouslymade to completely transform an internal combustion engine intoelectronic parts (including an electric motor) in a drive system of avehicle.

Such fuel cell vehicle or hybrid electric vehicle may have greaterrequired power than the existing vehicle using the fossil fuels.According to conventional practice, accordingly, an alternator isadditionally mounted on the vehicle, but in this case, separate partsshould be additionally mounted, thus undesirably increasing themanufacturing cost and the weight thereof and causing the failure in theminimization thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an objectof the present invention to provide a compressor and a power generatingsystem and method using the same wherein as a driving shaft rotates byreceiving a driving force from an engine, a refrigerant is compressed incylinder bores by means of pistons to conduct power generation, so thatthe power required for a vehicle can be produced.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a compressorand a power generating system and method of using the same wherein poweris stably supplied through the compressor necessarily disposed forcooling, without any separate components, so that the compressor and thepower generating system and method can be simply applied to vehicleshaving a relatively large quantity of power consumed such as fuel cellvehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and the like.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to a first aspectof the present invention, there is provided a compressor having acylinder block having a center bore piercedly formed at the centerthereof and cylinder bores piercedly formed around the center bore, afront housing and a rear housing mounted on both ends of the cylinderblock, a driving shaft rotatably passing through the front housing andthe center bore, and pistons linearly reciprocating in the cylinderbores with the power received from the driving shaft to compress arefrigerant, the compressor including: a permanent magnet disposed oneither of the pistons or the cylinder block; and coil parts provided tothe other part, whereby power generation is conducted by means of theelectromagnetic induction produced by the motions of the pistons.

According to the present invention, desirably, each piston has a bodyand the permanent magnet mounted on the inner peripheral surface of thebody, and the cylinder block has the coil parts adapted to surround thecylinder bores.

According to the present invention, desirably, the cylinder block hasmounting grooves formed to surround the cylinder bores, the mountinggrooves being adapted to coupledly insert the coil parts thereinto.

According to the present invention, desirably, each coil part includes acoil and a first fixing member adapted to fix the coil thereto, thefirst fixing member being formed of silicon steel and the coil having aconcentric structure in which two or more rows defined by a partitionplate are formed.

According to the present invention, desirably, the permanent magnet isfixed to a second fixing member of each piston.

According to the present invention, desirably, the permanent magnetincludes first permanent magnet having N and S poles located in themotion direction of each piston and second permanent magnet disposed atone side of each first permanent magnet in such a manner as to have thesame polarities as the facing polarities in the height directionthereof, the first permanent magnet and the second permanent magnetbeing alternately arranged in the motion direction of each piston.

According to the present invention, desirably, the permanent magnetincludes a third permanent magnet having an S pole located on the innerperipheral surface thereof contacted with the second fixing member andan N pole located on the outer peripheral surface thereof, a fourthpermanent magnet located at one side of the third permanent magnet inthe motion direction of each piston and having an N pole located at theside adjacent to the third permanent magnet, and a fifth permanentmagnet located at the other side of the third permanent magnet in themotion direction of each piston and having an N pole located at the sideadjacent to the third permanent magnet.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to a second aspectof the present invention, there is provided a power generating systemincluding: a compressor having a permanent magnet disposed on either ofpistons or a cylinder block and coil parts provided to the other part toconduct power generation by means of the electromagnetic inductionproduced by the motions of the pistons; a converter converting theoutput voltage of the compressor; a battery part charging the powerconverted by the converter thereto; and a controller.

According to the present invention, desirably, the power generatingsystem further includes: a bypass line connected to the front and rearsides of the compressor located on a refrigerant line connecting thecompressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator to allowthe refrigerant passing through the compressor to move back to the frontside of the compressor; and an adjusting valve adjusting the flow ofrefrigerant passing through the bypass line.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to a third aspectof the present invention, there is provided a power generating method ina power generating system having a bypass line connected to the frontand rear sides of a compressor located on a refrigerant line connectingthe compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator toallow a refrigerant passing through the compressor to move back to thefront side of the compressor, and an adjusting valve adjusting the flowof refrigerant passing through the bypass line, the method including:the determination step of determining whether cooling is needed; if itis determined that cooling is needed in the determination step, therefrigerant circulation step of closing the bypass line through theadjusting valve and opening the refrigerant line to allow therefrigerant passing through the compressor to move, thus conducting thecooling and the power generation; and if it is determined that coolingis not needed, the bypass step of opening the bypass line through theadjusting valve and closing the refrigerant line to allow therefrigerant passing through the compressor to be bypassed, thusconducting the power generation.

According to the present invention, desirably, if the external airtemperature is over a reference temperature value, it is determined thatcooling is needed in the determination step, and if the refrigerantdischarge pressure of the compressor is over a reference pressure value,it is determined that cooling is needed in the determination step.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a conventional compressor;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a compressor according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the section of acylinder block of the compressor according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the section of a coil part of thecompressor according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a piston of the compressor accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a piston of the compressor accordingto another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a power generating systemaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the power generating system according to thepresent invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams showing the flows of refrigerant in thepower generating system according to the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a power generating method according tothe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an explanation on a compressor and a power generatingsystem and method using the same according to the present invention willbe in detail given with reference to the attached drawing.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a compressor according to the presentinvention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a section of a cylinderblock of the compressor according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is aperspective view showing a section of a coil part of the compressoraccording to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing apiston of the compressor according to the present invention, and FIG. 6is a sectional view showing another piston of the compressor accordingto the present invention.

According to the present invention, a compressor 100 compresses arefrigerant through the linear reciprocating motions of pistons toconduct power generation by means of electromagnetic induction. Moreparticularly, the compressor 100 includes a cylinder block 110, a fronthousing 120, a rear housing 130, a driving shaft 140, and pistons 150,wherein a permanent magnet 152 is disposed on either of the pistons 150or the cylinder block 110, and coil parts 114 are provided to the otherpart, so that power generation is achieved by means of theelectromagnetic induction produced by the motions of the pistons 150.

According to the present invention, particularly, each piston 150 has abody 151 and the permanent magnet 152 mounted on the inner peripheralsurface of the body 151, and the cylinder block 110 includes the coilparts 114 adapted to surround cylinder bores 112, thus providing easiermanufacturing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 7, the permanent magnet 152 is mounted on theinner peripheral surface of the body 151 of each piston 150, and thecoil parts 114 are disposed on the cylinder block 110. The compressor100 according to the present invention will be described with referenceto the example as shown in FIGS. 2 to 7. Of course, the compressor 100according to the present invention is not limited thereto, so that thecoil parts 114 may be disposed on the inner peripheral surfaces of thepistons 150 and the permanent magnet 152 may be mounted on the cylinderblock 110.

First, the cylinder block 110 forms the frame of the compressor 100 andincludes a center bore 111 piercedly formed at the center thereof andthe cylinder bores 112 piercedly formed around the center bore 111. Thedriving shaft 140 is fitted to the center bore 111, and the cylinderbores 112 are formed to pass through the cylinder block 110 in a similarmanner to the center bore 111 around the center bore 111 to form thespaces in which the pistons 150 are provided. That is, each cylinderbore 112 has a shape (a generally cylindrical shape) corresponding tothe shape of each piston 150 in such a manner as to insert each piston150 thereinto to allow each piston 150 to be linearly reciprocatedtherein.

At this time, the front housing 120 and the rear housing 130 are coupledto both ends of the cylinder block 110.

According to the present invention, the coil parts 114 are disposed onthe cylinder block 110 to generate the electromagnetic inductiontogether with the permanent magnet 152 mounted at the inside of thepistons 150. The coil parts 114 may be formed integrally to the cylinderblock 110, and otherwise, mounting grooves 113 are formed on thecylinder block 110 to coupledly insert the coil parts 114 thereinto.

The mounting grooves 113 are hollow spaces for surrounding the cylinderbores 112, into which the coil parts 114 are inserted (See FIG. 3). Thatis, each coil part 114 has a cylindrical shape, and each mounting groove113 has the shape corresponding to the coil part 114.

At this time, each coil part 114 includes a coil 114 a and a firstfixing member 114 b adapted to fix the coil 114 a thereto. The firstfixing member 114 b serves as a support around which the coil 114 a iswound and as a protector of the coil 114 a. At this time, the firstfixing member 114 b is formed of silicon steel adapted to stably supportthe coil 114 a thereagainst.

Further, the coil 114 a of each coil part 114 is formed in a single rowto surround the cylinder bore 112 therewith (See FIG. 3), and as shownin FIG. 4, the coil 114 a has a concentric structure defined by apartition plate 114 c. The example as shown in FIG. 4 shows the coil 114a formed in two rows by means of the cylindrical partition plate 114 c.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the first fixing member 114 b of the coil part 114 isformed to surround the whole area on which the coil 114 a is wound, butthe compressor 100 according to the present invention is not limitedthereto. That is, the first fixing member 114 b may be formed to variousshapes capable of fixing the coil 114 a thereto, especially, capable ofimproving the power generation. Further, the coil 114 a is formed in onerow as shown in FIG. 3 and in two rows as shown in FIG. 4, but ofcourse, it may be formed in three or more rows.

The pistons 150 receive the power from the driving shaft 140 andlinearly reciprocate inside the cylinder bores 112 of the cylinder block110, so that the refrigerant is compressed to conduct the powergeneration. Each piston 150 includes the body 151 and the permanentmagnet 152.

The body 151 is a portion forming the outer shape of the piston 150 andhas a diameter capable of linearly reciprocating inside each cylinderbore 112 in such a manner as to be brought into contact with the innerperipheral surface of each cylinder bore 112 along the outer peripheralsurface thereof. The body 151 has a connection part 151 a protrudingfrom one side thereof to receive the driving force of the driving shaft140, which will be described later.

The permanent magnet 152 is mounted inside the body 151 of each piston150 to produce the power through the electromagnetic induction togetherwith the coil parts 114.

The permanent magnet 152 has a cylindrical shape and is fixed to asecond fixing member 153 of each piston 150.

The second fixing member 153 serves to fix the permanent magnet 152thereto and has a generally cylindrical shape, as shown in FIGS. 5 and6.

The permanent magnet 152 may be formed of one permanent magnet or two ormore permanent magnets.

For example, the permanent magnet 152 may include first permanentmagnets 152-1 having N and S poles located in the motion direction ofeach piston 150 and second permanent magnets 152-2 disposed at one sideof each first permanent magnet 152-1 in such a manner as to have thesame polarities as the facing polarities in the height directionthereof, wherein the first permanent magnets 152-1 and the secondpermanent magnets 152-2 are alternately arranged in the motion directionof each piston 150 (See FIG. 5).

The permanent magnet 152 as shown in FIG. 5 include the three firstpermanent magnets 152-1 and the two second permanent magnets 152-2alternately arranged in the motion direction of each piston 150.

As another example, as shown in FIG. 6, the permanent magnet 152 mayinclude a third permanent magnet 152-3 having an S pole located on theinner peripheral surface contacted with the second fixing member 153 andan N pole located on the outer peripheral surface thereof, a fourthpermanent magnet 152-4 located on one side of the third permanent magnet152-3 in the motion direction of each piston 150 and having an N polelocated at the side adjacent to the third permanent magnet 152-3, and afifth permanent magnet 152-5 located at the other side of the thirdpermanent magnet 152-3 in the motion direction of each piston 150 andhaving an N pole located at the side adjacent to the third permanentmagnet 152-3. In more detail, the third permanent magnet 152-3 has thecylindrical S pole surroundingly contacted with the second fixing member153 and the N pole surrounded by the S pole. The fourth permanent magnet152-4 and the fifth permanent magnet 152-5 are located at both sides ofthe third permanent magnet 152-3 in the longitudinal direction (that is,in the motion direction of each piston 150), having the N and S poles inthe motion direction of each piston 150. At this time, the fourthpermanent magnet 152-4 and the fifth permanent magnet 152-5 have the Npoles located at the sides adjacent to the third permanent magnet 152-3in the motion direction of each piston 150.

In addition to the shapes as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the permanentmagnet 152 according to the present invention may have variousstructures only if they easily produce power.

The compressor 100 according to the present invention is applicable tothe structure wherein the pistons 150 linearly reciprocate in theinteriors of the cylinder bores 112 of the cylinder block 110, and thestructure wherein the driving shaft 140 rotating by the power of theengine and the pistons 150 are connected to each other may be variouslyformed.

On the other hand, the compressor 100 as shown in FIG. 2 is a swashplate type compressor having swash plates 143, which will be explainedbelow.

The front housing 120 is coupled to the cylinder block 110 to form acrank chamber 121 at the inside thereof, and the rear housing 130 has asuction chamber (not shown) into which the refrigerant is introducedthrough a suction port (not shown), a discharge chamber 131, and adischarge port (not shown) communicating with the discharge chamber 131to discharge the refrigerant therefrom. At this time, the suctionchamber is formed at the center of the surface of the rear housing 130facing the cylinder block 110, and the discharge chamber 131 selectivelycommunicates with the cylinder bores 112 and serves as the space inwhich the refrigerant compressed in the cylinder bores 112 stays beforebeing discharged to the outside.

The front housing 120, the cylinder block 110, and the rear housing 130are fastened to each other by means of fixing means, like bolts.

The front housing 120 has a pulley shaft 122 a protruding from one sidethereof (the opposite side to the side coupled to the cylinder block110) to rotatably fit a pulley 122 thereto, the pulley 122 rotating bymeans of the driving force of the engine, and a shaft hole 123 formedpiercedly from the center of the pulley shaft 122 a to the crank chamber121 in such a manner as to mount the driving shaft 140 therein. A rotor142 is fixedly fitted to the driving shaft 140 inserted into the shafthole 123 on a given area of the crank chamber 121. The rotor 142 is agenerally circular plate, and the swash plates 143 are rotatablyhinge-coupled to the rotor 142. The swash plates 143 are varied inangles fixed to the driving shaft 140 in accordance with the dischargingcapacities of the compressor 100. That is, the swash plates 143 haveangles perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the driving shaft140 or given tilted angles relative thereto. At this time, the outercircumferences of the swash plates 143 are connected to the connectionparts 151 a of the pistons 150 by means of shoes 144. Each connectionpart 151 a is a portion protruding from one side of the body 151 of eachpiston 150 toward the crank chamber 121, which is not inserted into eachcylinder bore 112 of the cylinder block 110. In more detail, if theouter circumferences of the swash plates 143 are connected to theconnection parts 151 a of the pistons 150 by means of the shoes 144, theswash plates 143 rotate together with the driving shaft 140 and therotor 142, while being varied in the fixed angles thereof, thus allowingthe pistons 150 to linearly reciprocate in the interiors of the cylinderbores 112.

On the other hand, a valve assembly 160 is disposed between the cylinderblock 110 and the rear housing 130 to control the flow of refrigerantbetween the suction chamber and the discharge chamber 131 of the rearhousing 130 and the cylinder bores 112 of the cylinder block 110. Thatis, the valve assembly 160 controls the flows of refrigerant from thesuction chamber to the cylinder bores 112 and from the cylinder bores112 to the discharge chamber 131.

The compressor 100 according to the present invention is applicable tovarious compressors only if they compress a refrigerant through thelinear reciprocating motions of pistons.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a power generating system according to thepresent invention, FIG. 8 is another diagram showing the powergenerating system according to the present invention, FIGS. 9A and 9Bare diagrams showing the flows of refrigerant in the power generatingsystem according to the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a flow chartshowing a power generating method according to the present invention.

A power generating system 1000 according to the present inventionincludes the compressor 100 as mentioned above, a converter 210, abattery part 220, and a controller 230.

The converter 210 converts the output voltage of the compressor 100 andincludes a rectifier and a stabilizer.

The battery part 220 charges the power converted by the converter 210thereto.

The controller 230 monitors the compressor 100, the converter 210, andthe battery part 220 and controls their operation.

At this time, the power generating system 1000 according to the presentinvention further includes a bypass line 400 and an adjusting valve 410.

The bypass line 400 is connected to the front and rear sides of thecompressor 100 located on a refrigerant line 300 connecting thecompressor 100, a condenser 310, an expansion valve 320, and anevaporator 330 to allow the refrigerant to flow therealong, and alongthe bypass line 400, accordingly, the refrigerant passing through thecompressor 100 moves back to the front side of the compressor 100.

The refrigerant line 300 connects the compressor 100, the condenser 310,the expansion valve 320, and the evaporator 330 to move the refrigerantfor cooling the vehicle therealong. At this time, both ends of thebypass line 400 are connected to the front and rear sides of thecompressor 100, so that the refrigerant passing through the compressor100 moves back to the compressor 100, without being circulated along therefrigerant line 300.

On the other hand, the condenser 310 heat-exchanges the hightemperature, high pressure vapor refrigerant discharged from thecompressor 100 with external air, condenses the heat-exchangedrefrigerant into high temperature, high pressure liquid, and dischargesthe condensed liquid refrigerant to the expansion valve 320. Theexpansion valve 320 rapidly expands the refrigerant to low temperature,low pressure wet saturated refrigerant through a throttling process anddischarges the wet saturated refrigerant. The evaporator 330heat-exchanges the low pressure liquid refrigerant throttled in theexpansion valve 320 with the air blowing to the interior of the vehicleand evaporates the liquid refrigerant to allow the air discharged to theinterior of the vehicle to be cooled through the absorption of heatgenerated by the latent heat of the evaporation of the refrigerant.

The adjusting valve 410 adjusts the flow of refrigerant passing throughthe bypass line 400 and is open and closed by the control of thecontroller 230.

According to the present invention, the power generating system 1000determines whether the refrigerant passing through the compressor 100 isbypassed or not in accordance with the opening and closing of theadjusting valve 410, so that if cooling is needed, the refrigerantpassing through the compressor 100 moves along the refrigerant line 300,and if cooling is not needed, the refrigerant passing through thecompressor 100 moves along the bypass line 400 and flows to thecompressor 100 again.

Accordingly, the power generating system 1000 can produce the powerrequired for the vehicle through the motions of the pistons 150 of thecompressor 100 and conduct the power generation together with thecooling of the vehicle. Otherwise, the power generating system 1000conducts only the power generation.

On the other hand, a power generating method according to the presentinvention includes the determination step, the refrigerant circulationstep, and the bypass step, while using the power generating system 1000as mentioned above.

The determination step is conducted by the controller 230 determiningwhether cooling is needed, and the determination is made by an externalair temperature or a refrigerant discharge pressure. In more detail, ifthe external air temperature is over a reference temperature value, itis determined that cooling is needed, and otherwise, if the refrigerantdischarge pressure of the compressor 100 is over a reference pressurevalue, it is determined that cooling is needed.

If it is determined that cooling is needed in the determination step,the refrigerant circulation step is conducted by closing the bypass line400 through the adjusting valve 410 and opening the refrigerant line 300to allow the refrigerant passing through the compressor 100 to move,thus conducting the cooling and the power generation. The refrigerant iscirculated as shown in FIG. 9A, thus conducting the cooling, and thepistons 150 are linearly reciprocated, thus conducting the powergeneration.

If it is determined that cooling is not needed in the determinationstep, the bypass step is conducted by opening the bypass line 400through the adjusting valve 410 and closing the refrigerant line 300 toallow the refrigerant passing through the compressor 100 to be bypassed,thus conducting power generation. The refrigerant is circulated as shownin FIG. 9B, and the pistons 150 are linearly reciprocated, thusconducting the power generation.

As mentioned above, the compressor 100 according to the presentinvention and the power generating system 1000 and the power generatingmethod using the same are configured wherein as the driving shaft 140rotates by receiving the driving force from the engine, the refrigerantis compressed in the cylinder bores 112 by the pistons 150 to conductpower generation, so that the power required for the vehicle can beproduced. In more detail, the compressor 100 according to the presentinvention and the power generating system 1000 and the power generatingmethod using the same are configured wherein power is stably suppliedthrough the compressor necessarily disposed for cooling, without anyseparate components, so that the compressor and the power generatingsystem and method can be simply applied to vehicles having a relativelylarge quantity of power consumed such as fuel cell vehicles, hybridelectric vehicles, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference to theparticular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by theembodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodimentswithout departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A compressor comprising: a cylinder blockincluding a center bore formed through a center thereof and a pluralityof cylinder bores formed around the center bore; a driving shaftrotatably disposed through the center bore; a plurality of pistons, eachof the pistons linearly reciprocating within one of the cylinder boresvia power received from the driving shaft to compress a refrigerant; apermanent magnet; and a coil part, wherein the permanent magnet isdisposed in one of one of the pistons and the cylinder block and thecoil part is disposed in an other of the one of the pistons and thecylinder block, wherein power generation is caused by electromagneticinduction from relative motion between the permanent magnet and the coilpart disposed in the one of the pistons and the cylinder block.
 2. Thecompressor according to claim 1, wherein each of the pistons has a bodyand the permanent magnet is disposed on an inner peripheral surface ofthe body of the one of the pistons.
 3. The compressor according to claim2, wherein the coil part is disposed in the cylinder block andconfigured to surround one of the cylinder bores.
 4. The compressoraccording to claim 3, wherein the cylinder block includes a mountinggroove formed therein configured to receive the coil part therein. 5.The compressor according to claim 1, wherein the coil part comprises acoil and a fixing member configured to affix the coil thereto.
 6. Thecompressor according to claim 5, wherein the fixing member is formed ofsilicon steel.
 7. The compressor according to claim 5, wherein the coilincludes at least two rows arranged concentrically.
 8. The compressoraccording to claim 7, wherein one row of the coil is separated fromanother row of the coil by a partition plate.
 9. The compressoraccording to claim 1, wherein the one of the pistons includes a fixingmember and the permanent magnet is affixed to the fixing member of theone of the pistons.
 10. The compressor according to claim 1, wherein thepermanent magnet comprises a plurality of first permanent magnets eachhaving N and S poles arranged in a direction of reciprocal motion ofeach of the pistons.
 11. The compressor according to claim 10, whereinthe permanent magnet further comprises a plurality of second permanentmagnets, wherein each of the second permanent magnets is disposed to oneside of each of the first permanent magnets, wherein each of the secondpermanent magnets has a polarity that is the same as the polarity of anabutting pole of one of the first permanent magnets.
 12. The compressoraccording to claim 1, wherein the permanent magnet comprises a firstpermanent magnet having an S pole forming an inner peripheral surfacethereof and an N pole forming an outer peripheral surface thereof. 13.The compressor according to claim 12, wherein the permanent magnetfurther comprises a second permanent magnet disposed to a first side ofthe first permanent magnet in a direction of reciprocal motion of thepistons and a third permanent magnet formed to a second side of thefirst permanent magnet in the direction of reciprocal motion of thepistons.
 14. The compressor according to claim 13, wherein each of thesecond permanent magnet and the third permanent magnet includes an Npole abutting the first permanent magnet.
 15. A power generating systemcomprising: a compressor having a permanent magnet disposed in one of apiston and a cylinder block and a coil part disposed in an other of thepiston and the cylinder block, the compressor causing power generationby electromagnetic induction produced by the motion of the pistonrelative to the cylinder block; a converter configured to convert anoutput voltage of the compressor; a battery part charging powerconverted by the converter to the battery part; and a controllerconfigured to control operation of the compressor, the converter, andthe battery part.
 16. The power generating system according to claim 15,further comprising: a refrigerant line fluidly connecting the compressorto a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator to form a closedloop; and a bypass line fluidly connected to the refrigerant line at anentrance and an exit of the compressor.
 17. The power generating systemaccording to claim 16, further comprising an adjusting valve foradjusting a flow of the refrigerant through the bypass line.
 18. A powergenerating method comprising the steps of: providing a power generatingsystem comprising a refrigerant line fluidly connecting a compressor, acondenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator to each other to form aclosed loop, wherein a bypass line is fluidly connected to an entranceand an exit of the compressor, the bypass line configured to allow arefrigerant exiting the compressor to return to the entrance thereof, anadjusting valve adjusting a flow of the refrigerant through the bypassline; and determining whether cooling is needed; wherein the bypass lineis closed via the adjusting valve and the refrigerant is allowed to flowthrough the refrigerant line if it is determined that cooling is needed,thereby causing the power generation system to conduct cooling andgenerate power; and wherein the bypass line is opened via the adjustingvalve and the refrigerant line is closed to allow refrigerant exitingthe compressor to be bypassed to the entrance of the compressor, therebycausing the power generation system to generate power.
 19. The methodaccording to claim 18, wherein it is determined that cooling is neededin the determination step if an external air temperature is above areference temperature value.
 20. The method according to claim 18,wherein it is determined that cooling is needed in the determinationstep if a discharge pressure of the refrigerant exiting the compressoris above a reference pressure value.